Ronda Rousey Must Be the Next WWE Raw Women’s Champion
By Tom Clark
The Raw Women’s Championship is arguably the most prestigious women’s title in WWE. It’s on the company’s flagship program, which means it has high visibility. The belt has a solid history behind it, thanks to Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. For many fans, the SmackDown Women’s Championship just cannot compare to its red brand counterpart.
But while the Raw Women’s Championship is indeed an important title, the booking behind it has not been all that impressive. Shoddy storylines and inexplicable character issues have plagued the title over the past several months and the time has come for WWE to move forward with its biggest star. The time has come for Ronda Rousey to win the championship.
It’s a move that fans suspected would come eventually. Rousey made her ring debut at WrestleMania 34 of course but many were already wondering when she would get a title shot. That debate began long before she stepped between the ropes at Mania but after the night was over, fans were convinced. Ronda Rousey was on her way. When would she get an opportunity at Nia Jax?
Money in the Bank was the night of course and Rousey once again rose to the occasion. She proved that she could help carry a singles match from start to finish. More importantly, she proved her ability to get a match over. She didn’t have Triple H or Kurt Angle like she did at WrestleMania and she didn’t’ need them. Rousey was on her way to the title and it was clear she could handle it when she got there.
Her storyline suspension may have slowed things down a bit but now she’s back on track. This is good news for her supporters and for the championship that will likely be around her waist in the near future. WWE may have taken some criticism in the beginning for pushing Ronda too far too fast but now that move looks like a stroke of genius.
The Raw Women’s Championship is a title that’s in desperate need of legitimacy and Ronda can provide that. She may be a part-time Superstar like Universal champion Brock Lesnar, but she is around more and she has no desire to try the UFC again. Ronda is right at home in a WWE ring and she can bring a sense of relevancy back to the title.
Jax was supposed to be the one to do just that but it fell flat. She went into WrestleMania 34 with some good momentum, thanks to her storyline with Alexa Bliss. Bliss was the arrogant bully that took advantage of a kindhearted Jax and Alexa lost her title as a result.
Nia’s win over Bliss represented much more than just a championship victory. It was a victory that WWE claimed was for anyone that had ever felt bullied or neglected. Nia may be a larger-than-life star but she’s a real person underneath and that message was successfully conveyed throughout the feud. WrestleMania should have been the blow-off to that feud. There was really no need for a second chapter.
But that’s exactly what WWE gave the fans. Instead of moving to the next challenger, Jax was moving right back to Bliss, who has more vile and contempt than ever. Bliss turned the tables on Jax and actually claimed that Nia was the real bully. All of the work that had been done to get Nia over was undone right after WrestleMania 34.
The fact that Bliss is a popular Superstar did not help the situation of course. But that did not mean Jax couldn’t successfully get over on her. However Nia’s booking ruined any chance of that happening and it continues to be a problem now.
Nia Jax is a powerhouse with a heart. Fans get it. But it’s a point that WWE drove home at every turn. Just when it looked as though Jax could finally cut loose and wreak havoc, she was pushed back and reduced to tears. WWE insisted on showing her humanity and it did not help her cause. By the time she challenged Ronda Rousey, Jax was a champion barely hanging onto any resemblance of legitimacy as a character. But the Rousey angle was WWE’s chance to get it right.
However that did not come to pass. The challenge began in a very civil manner as Jax offered to defend her title against a hesitant Rousey. But the sportsmanship did not last long. Jax immediately went on the offensive, claiming that Rousey wouldn’t win because WWE was not the UFC. She felt that Ronda was out of her element and had no business believing she could ever become the Raw women’s champion. Rousey never asked for a title shot of course but that did not seem to matter.
Alexa’s cash-in against Jax at Money in the Bank was a shocker, mostly because it seemed as though Rousey was on her way to winning the match. Bliss brutally attacked the trained UFC fighter with a briefcase until Ronda was unable to prevent the title change. Bliss was the new champion and more popular than ever before.
But that popularity did not make a difference when Rousey attacked her on the following Monday Night Raw. Suddenly Bliss had no friends, as the crowd was firmly behind Ronda Rousey. Meanwhile Nia Jax, who worked heel the night before, was seemingly back to normal soon after. The heat between her and Rousey now seems to be gone.
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Then there’s the fact that top tier talents Sasha Banks and Bayley are nowhere close to the title right now. The same goes for The Riott Squad, Ember Moon and Natalya. Alexa Bliss is a good champion and a great personality but if the roster is not pursuing her, then she’s standing still. Bliss needs a red-hot feud with a red-hot Superstar and no one is hotter than Ronda Rousey.
Ronda Rousey versus Alexa Bliss is a match that needs to happen at SummerSlam and even a Triple Threat involving Nia Jax would work. The Raw Women’s Championship must be on the line that night and Rousey must win. Jumping ahead of the line is a big deal to fans and understandably so. But the title needs a breath of fresh air. The title needs The Baddest Woman on the Planet. She and Bliss can feud for the rest of the summer over the title and perhaps even into the fall.
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But the change must happen. Ronda Rousey may not be a veteran leader in the locker room but she brings a spotlight to the title that no one else can. Rousey is more than capable of wearing the championship and WWE should be more than willing to give her an opportunity to do so. Rousey is the right Superstar to carry the title. Her time is coming, hopefully sooner rather than later.